Mark Miller

Retail News Breaks May 16th, 2012MINNEAPOLIS ? Retail sales for the first quarter increased 6.1% to $16.54 billion at Target Corp., fueled by a 5.3% rise in comparable-store sales. Although net income increased just 1.2% to $697 million, earnings per diluted share of $1.04 exceeded the $1.02 per share average estimate among analysts. In a research note, William Blair & Co. analyst Mark Miller noted that the results represented a strong rebound from soft fourth quarter sales. In particular, the previously reported 5.3% increase in comp-store sales was the best quarterly comp in over six years, and, like other

MINNEAPOLIS – Target Corp. reported a 3.7% increase in second-quarter net earnings to $704 million, or $1.03 per share, beating the consensus projection of 97 cents per share among analysts. "We’re very pleased with our second-quarter financial results, which benefited from an acceleration in the pace of our comparable-store sales growth," said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "We continue to focus on strong execution of our strategy, preparing Target to perform well in a variety of economic environments." Target’s retail segment turned in a 5.1% increase in sales to $15.9 billion that was